Plato 's Argument Of Pain And Pleasure

Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly stresses the importance of utilizing rhetorical strategies to effectively persuade readers through the process of writing. Of the numerous persuasive techniques mentioned in the reading, I was most intrigued by the prevalence of pathos in many forms of argumentative approaches, such as the Aristotelian approach. In contrast to Rogerian’s style of argumentation, the focal point of this method heavily relies on attacking the opposition to win the support of the audience. To gain a better understanding of pathos’ role in the technique, it is necessary to turn to an example to dissect, such as Adolf Hitler’s infamous speech. In it, Hitler incorporates Aristotle’s style of argument, where he attacks and places

Socrates uses several different rhetorical strategies while conversing with his student Glaucon in Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave”. He uses these rhetorical strategies in order to strengthen his argument and to effectively convince his reader that his beliefs are correct. Socrates effectively responds to Glaucon’s questions through his usage of allegory, logos, and symbols.

Gorgias was a Sophist by nature of that time but rejected the title to be a “Rhetorician” and had the beliefs like the Sophist that rhetoric was a universal right. He believed that the common man deserved to learn rhetoric from teachers if they could conjure up the large amounts money needed to learn from renown teachers of Gorgias status. Many from outside of rhetoric would say it was incredibly wrong to charge people who couldn’t afford to pay for teaching and spend all their money just to learn rhetoric. What Gorgias would argue is that those outsiders who found it wrong to charge money did not understand the power and influence rhetoric gave to someone in Ancient Athens. Rhetoric gave the common man the ability to yield conversation in the polis, debates, and

In “Encomium of Helen,” Gorgias asserts that every day speech and rhetoric are one and the same; he describes rhetoric as a powerful manipulator that heavily relies on persuasion and the art of inclusion and exclusion in order to convince a specific audience to act upon a certain task or change their way of thinking. To support his claim, he suggests that one of the strongest variables that may have led to Helen’s fate is the power of rhetoric, which has the ability to overtake one’s body and soul, similar to how drugs have an effect on a person’s mind and body.

According to Socrates, in order for authors to effectively use rhetoric to test a soul on its

The Gorgias is a dialogue that starts off with a question of what rhetoric is, and from discussing what rhetoric is, develops into a inquiry of what justice and virtue is. While the readers should never leave the theme of rhetoric behind, this paper will focus solely on the topics of virtue and justice. By the second to last section of the Gorgias, we find that Socrates’ interlocutors are worn out by his refutations. Yet, Socrates cannot leave now, for his argument has not been complete. He has already been accused at least once of being womanly by being late to a fight; the philosopher cannot now accused of abandoning the virtue he champions and which we all might metaphorically agree he poses,

Socrates makes a more compelling argument throughout the writing of Gorgias and puts Gorgias in the spotlight numerous times. Throughout Gorgias Gorgias is simply answering Socrates’ questions that actually contradict what Gorgias said about rhetoric and knowledge before his conversation gets intense with Socrates. Socrates compels his argument in his usual manner by obtaining acceptance in certain propositions that Gorgias cannot deny, and then Socrates shows that they lead to conclusions very different from what he had imagined. Socrates says at the beginning that he does not want to hear a speech by Gorgias, but instead wants to engage in a conversation with him. Gorgias makes wonderful claims for the power of rhetoric, Socrates wants

A debate between Gorgias and Socrates is sparked throughout Gorgias. Socrates argument consists of trying to search for the precise essence of rhetoric. Gorgias thinks you need rhetoric, whereas Socrates believes people need knowledge. In the first part of Gorgias Socrates tries to prove that an entire sphere of human exertion, persuasive speech, is morally inoperative. He believes that rhetoric doesn’t require anyone to understand about the subject matter about which they speak. Rhetoric is really only a talent for persuading people into believing something instead of arguing using knowledge. Socrates argues rhetoric is made up of telling people what they want to hear instead of telling them the truth. When Gorgias is unexpectedly not

In speaking of effective rhetorical persuasion, we must appeal to our target audience in a way that will get them to accept or act upon the point of view we are trying to portray. Aristotle said that we persuade others by three means: (1) by the appeal to their reason (logos); (2) by the appeal to their emotions (pathos); and (3) by the appeal of our personality or character (ethos) (Corbett and Connors 32). When Socrates, an infamous rhetorician, gave his “apology” to his fellow Athenians after being accused of atheism or not believing in the gods and corrupting the youth with similar teachings, he employed all three modes of persuasion to prove his innocence. Despite the

The fight to do what is right is not an easy path to traverse, but is one which demands a noble and enduring character. Defending principles of justice with logic and reason in the face of political opposition, is a difficult task to take, but the elusive Socrates boldly undertook this endeavor. In Plato’s Apology, he recalls the daring defence of the principles of truth that Socrates took against all odds. Plato’s recollections, much like the trial of Socrates at the time, has sparked numerous debates amongst scholars who seek to understand the events of the trial more deeply. One such debate has centered on what Socrates meant when he said his speech was nothing more than words spoken at random. Brumbaugh and Oldfather, in their scholarly analysis, contend that Socrates’s speech is riddled with fine polish and organization suggesting that his speech was not random. As will be discussed, there are several examples of organization in Socrates’s speech such as when he provides his jurors with an outline of his speech. Additionally, masterfully woven throughout his defence, Socrates employed many diverse modes of argumentation in a logical and consistent manner lending credence to the notion that he planned his speech beforehand. This skillful use of these modes in Socrates’s argument, all vindicate an intentional design and premeditation. Despite Socrates’s humble assertions

ABSTRACT: Some of the notorious interpretive puzzles of the Phaedrus arise from reading it in terms of a static version of mimesis; hence, the concerns about its apparent failure to enact its own norms and the status of its own self-commentaries. However, if the dialogue is read in the light of the more dynamic model of a perfectionist paideia — that is, Plato’s portrayal of Socrates as attempting to woo Phaedrus to philosophy (with only partial success) is itself a rhetorical attempt to woo the appropriate reader — then many of the puzzles fall into place as part of the rhetorical strategy. The apparent lack of formal unity arises out of Phaedrus’ own deficiencies; the written dialogue turns out

Socrates was a unique character in ancient Greece, specifically in the city-state of Athens, which was the seat of democracy at the time. Athens practiced direct democracy where citizens, specifically male, directly participated in and voted on legislation. The implication is that most of the men of Athens served in some political way. A way to distinguish oneself apart from the citizenry was to invoke the power of speech and persuasion to be more respected, powerful, and thus wealthier. Socrates’s philosophy in Plato’s dialogue Gorgias is shown in contrast to rhetoric and its perceived benefits to the individual and the people of the democracy. It offers severe critiques on the practice of rhetoric, specifically for the harm it does instead

In Gorgias we have a conversation between Socrates, Gorgias, and Polus, Gorgias' young assistant. They speak on the matters of rhetoric, knowledge, and whether injustice and suffering is better to do or have done onto you. While conventional wisdom tells us that it is better to inflict suffering than to receive it, Socrates argues that it is completely the opposite. Part of Socrates view is that moral goodness is connected with knowledge, and that morally it is better to receive suffering than inflict it.

With reference to Plato’s work entitled Gorgias, this essay will provide a short background to the dialogue, provide a synopsis of the points put forward by Callicles and how Socrates refutes those claims, ending with a final assessment of the dialogue in completion.

In Gorgias, named for the Sicilian sophist and rhetorician featured in the dialogue, Socrates speaks with Gorgias concerning the nature of rhetoric as compared with philosophy; also, he speaks with Gorgias’s pupil Polus concerning the tyrant and how he truly is the most unhappiest of all, despite any ill-gotten gains they may have attained. Socrates’ distaste –